My mind began racing down Broad Street, America’s longest street, which once boasted legendary jazz clubs like Pep’s Musical Bar, the Showboat, Fantasy Lounge, Zanzibar Blue and Jewel’s. On June 5, 1945, Charlie Parker performed at the Academy of Music.

By harnessing technology and capturing oral histories, we can go back to the time when the joints were jumping on Broad, South and 52nd streets, and Columbia Avenue from 8th Street to 30th Street.

At the upcoming Apps for SEPTA hackathon, we will build a prototype for a mobile app that will help visitors and residents locate former jazz clubs. Users can jump on a “Jazz Bus” to, say, Germantown and re-imagine feeling good at the Cadillac Club.

In collaboration with Lenora Early, founder of the John Coltrane House, we will re-visit Trane’s Philadelphia.

Are you jazzed? Then get involved with this Code for Philly project that’s at the intersection of technology, art and community empowerment.

May 22, 2008

Last week, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean announced the state blogs credentialed to cover the national convention. In a press release, Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry trumpeted:

The members of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps represent a broad spectrum of voices that illustrate the "big tent" nature of our Party. Many of these blogs are vibrant communities, well respected in their home states and committed to ensuring that all voices can be heard in the political process. I'm excited about the roles these bloggers will have in engaging an even broader, more diverse base of people from around the country in conversations not only about the Convention, but about the future of our nation.

Black bloggers do not share Daughtry’s excitement. They are outraged over the lack of diversity. BTW, Daughtry is the daughter of the Rev. Herbert Daughtry of House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn. A longtime community leader, Rev. Daughtry was arrested during the recent pray-in for justice for Sean Bell.

Francis L. Holland of the Afrospear is leading the charge. Disclosure: I’m a member of the Afrospear but I don’t have a dog in this fight for two reasons.

First, I’m not a state blogger so I didn’t apply. Second, I expect to be credentialed through the DNCC Press Gallery as a member of the Black Voices political team.

I'm concerned that virtually all of the state blogs selected by the Democratic National Committee to cover Denver are white. Of course, it remains possible that one of these white blogs will bring a Black person along as a blogger. But, Black bloggers and voters are not willing to wait until we arrive in Denver to find out whether a group of virtually all-white blogs will also send a group of all-white bloggers to Denver. We strongly suspect that we already know the answer, and it is totally unacceptable to us. Do any of these all-white blogs even have any Black bloggers who might participate? That's something we need to know before Denver.

February 25, 2008

The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is nearing the endgame. Like most African Americans, I was skeptical that white voters would embrace Barack Obama’s candidacy. While Obama enjoys broad support among all demographic groups, I am mindful that he is racking up victories in Democratic primaries and caucuses.

If Obama is the nominee, the general election will be a different ballgame. Consider this from the Washington Post:

Obama's campaign released a memo shortly after the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday votes that made a similar case, noting that in six states carried by President Bush in 2004 -- Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota and South Carolina -- Obama received more votes than the top two Republican finishers combined. (Since that memo, the trend has held true in Nebraska, Louisiana and Virginia.)

Barack Obama is the candidate best suited to win Independents, play well in red states, and beat John McCain in November," the memo said.

So, is it true? Is Obama a potential map-breaker for Democrats -- able to win previously non-competitive states in the South and the Midwest?

In South Carolina, for instance, with the exception of Jimmy Carter (1976 and 1980) and Bill Clinton (1996) no Democratic presidential candidate has received more than 40 percent of the vote since 1968.

Obama’s slew of victories shows that more white voters than ever are willing to cross the color line. Still, it's a leap of faith to think that race doesn’t matter in a state that flies a universal symbol of racial hatred on the Statehouse grounds.

While the national media downplay the impact of illegal immigration in the presidential election, it remains a hot issue for millions of Americans. A recent poll found that 70 percent of South Carolinians say illegal immigration is an extremely or very important issue.

The South Carolina state legislature is responding to voters’ concerns. The Senate and House recently passed legislation cracking down on illegal immigration. Legislation has been introduced tightening rules on illegals’ access to drivers’ licenses, employment and public benefits in other red states, including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a way that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration.

February 21, 2008

A year ago, I was among the chorus of critics of Barack Obama's decision to announce his candidacy at the same time as the State of the Black Union conference organized by Tavis Smiley. Then as now, I believe it was a deliberate tactic to distance himself from African Americans lest he come out of the gate labeled as a "black presidential candidate."

Smiley has come under withering criticism for insisting that Obama take time off the campaign trail. His rejection of Michelle Obama as a surrogate has triggered comments such as "get over yourself," "stop hating on your brother," and the unkindest cut of all for a talk show host, "shut the hell up!"

This is the most important victory of 2008. Hillary Clinton was ahead in Wisconsin by double digit figures. Young people, senior citizens, women and men decided Barack Obama is the only candidate who has a reasonable chance of winning the White House in 2008.

February 19, 2008

Voters head to the polls in frigid Wisconsin and Hawaii today. Wisconsin's 74 pledged delegates are in play but it’s the delegates, or more accurately, the wannabe delegates from Michigan and Florida that are sending chills down Democrats’ spines.

The Democratic National Committee’s delegate allocation rules mean the nomination likely will not be decided by the end of the voting season. So, there is growing concern that the unresolved status of the Michigan and Florida delegations will lead to chaos at the national convention.

In a conference call with reporters, Obama’s national campaign manager David Plouffe said:

The DNC has been pretty clear because of their rules, there are no delegates awarded. There is no tolerance for the Clinton campaign trying to change the rules. …Any effort to try to seat Florida and Michigan will not be tolerated by the party leadership.

Nor will any political machinations be tolerated by the Rev. Al Sharpton. At the weekly rally of the National Action Network, Sharpton said:

The Democratic National Committee set the rules and publicized the consequences. ...Now they want to change the rules and seat the people of Michigan and Florida, which is a direct violation of the voting rights of the citizens of those states who didn’t vote because they were told their votes wouldn’t count.

Sharpton made it clear he is “not helping Obama.” Instead, he’s “helping voting rights.” He added:

We will fight with litigation or demonstration. We will go to the courts or the streets, but we will not seat the Michigan and Florida delegations. If I can fight the Republicans in 2000 about a voting rights matter, certainly I’m not going to let the party I voted for violate voting rights.

No matter what happens, we’re going to be on the front ready to go. …The process must be clear and fair and obvious to all.

Sharpton made note that the shortage of hotel rooms in Denver will not be a problem:

February 18, 2008

More than 50 years ago, Little Richard had a hit with "The Girl Can’t Help It." Don Imus’ sexism and racism are likewise straight out of the 1950s. But unlike the girl "who was born to please," Imus seemingly was born to pis diss women and blacks.

Fortunately, Media Matters monitors "Imus in the Morning." So, I don’t have to start my day with morning sickness. On a recent show Imus sank to a new low:

On the February 13 edition of Imus in the Morning, during a segment referred to as the second episode of "Imus in the Morning Radio Theater on the Air," regular guest, comedian, and impersonator Rob Bartlett played the character of "former president Billy Clayton" and left a message for "Kelsey Clayton," his daughter. During the message, Billy Clayton referred to "this pineapple-eatin' [Borat] Ohana" and asked Kelsey Clayton to "campaign for" her mother -- Hailey Clayton, a "New York Senator" and "onetime front-runner for the Democratic nomination" -- and "have sex with" delegates.

In character as "Billy Clayton," Bartlett said:

Hello, Puddin' Pop? It's Daddy. Listen, Love Bug, Mommy and me need you to do us a favor. If she's ever gonna beat this pineapple-eatin' Ohana, we need you to campaign for her, help her get some delegates. Now, I want you to understand that we don't want to exploit you. We don't want you buying them drinks or taking them to dinner or getting them gifts. We just want you to have sex with them.

When Imus returned to the air, he promised "no one else will say anything on my program to make anyone think I didn't deserve a second chance."

You can't teach an old dog new tricks so I had my doubts that Imus would seize the "opportunity to have a better program." He hasn’t.

Imus also promised to:

Never say anything in my lifetime that will make the young women at Rutgers regret that they accepted my apology or forgave me.

The Scarlet Knights must be red face that another accomplished young woman, Chelsea Clinton, is the target of Imus’ demeaning sexist "comedy."